Help me choose this battle
 

Here's the deal
My company's sales force are all provided company cars that are purchased and maintained by us, we also pay for car washes, fuel, tolls....everything. If there is a problem they drop it off at the garage take a spare and pick theirs up when its done. The managers get the new cars and then they are rotated to sales people and are all in excellent condition. Here's the catch....they all, with the exception of the GM are lettered. It is done very tastefully with the name of our company, address and a phone number. Every vehicle, be it truck, trailer, tractor is stenciled. Every piece of literature or machine we sell has a sticker placed "straight" on it.
A few years ago we hired a sales-WOMAN ;) for our medical division. She calls on hospitals, nursing homes, medi-centers, MRI's ect. Well at the time she had her own car so during the hiring negotiations we agreed to pay her lease which we did.
When her lease was up she we offered a company car and she has been very pleased, its an '04 Impala which she said is nicer than her lease.
Here comes the problem.......
She absolutely refuses to have her car lettered, claiming she is "not delivering pizza" yada yada yada. Well I know that is all BS she just doesnt want to go to the country club (literally)with lettering on her car. She says if her car has to be lettered she will go lease another car and thats where we are now.

This person is probably the most professional, organized, salesperson we have. She is not someone I want to lose. She is also the highest paid other than my VP of sales.
This is also round 2 for her, last week she refused her new company cell phone because it was a Nextel and she isnt "a truck driver". Well after I told her that her old number was being ported she accepted the phone.

Help me
Do I take on this battle
Do I give her her win and move on

So you hired Amorosa huh?
Give in now and she will be right back in your office with a new list of things to change. Nip it in the Bud!
You are the boss, not her. I actually was on her side until I read the phone thing.
Steeee- rike 2!!!

if you change the rules for her all the other salesmen will want cars without lettering. then your screwed unless you dont want your free advertisng any more. if she is to embarresed to drive the company car to her "country club" tell her to go buy a personal car to drive to the club. the job market is still tight out there she sure is pushing her luck lots of sales guys out there looking for work.

Agree with IDRPSTF - where will it end? And if she is so great, she should understand and commit to the company's goals and business plans. Marketing is most definitely part of the business plan. And how are you going to explain the special treatment to every other person that has a company car?

I agree!
 

You must have the same rules for everybody. If she wants to spend her money and lease a car that is her perogative but you cannot contribute/supplement.

I have one that is a b@@@@ on wheels. We B@@@@@ about her everyday but she brings in $$$$$. Most of the sales people that turn the $$$$ eventually turn into primadonnas.

Good luck. let us know the the final decision.

You can take the route of the Don and say"your fired, b@@@@@ !!!"

What's it worth to keep her?
 

If she is truly producing sales and income then get inventive to solve the issue:
1. Take the lettering off all sales VP's cars.
2. Let her lease a car and give her an "allowance" she maintains the car etc.

I franlky find it bothersome to be a rolling billboard no matter how tastefully it is done.

My $ .02

Wannabe

Let her lease her own car (but give some upper and lower limits) and the same with the phone. Key sales people are worth giving a little more to...

Oh my God is that true!

Get rid of that B*tch. YOU are the boss--not her. If you give in to her, you will have alot of unhappy employees that will be asking for the same treatment.

If your paying for the car put any damn thing you want on it. If she doesn't like it let her get her own car.

If she wants to take the route of her own car you could pay her a vehicle allowance once a month that is some reduced amount of your expense to provide her a company car, but that's the most I would do.

If her vanity is that important to her she should pay for it.